maier



v (No Model.)

J. D. MAIER, Jr. RULE.

No. 556,582 Patented'MaJr. 17, 1896.--

ANDREW EGRANAM. PHOTO-LITHQWASHINGTDNJ C UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN D. MAIER, JR, OF W'ILMINGTON, DELAIVARE.

RULE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 556,582, dated March 17, 1896.

Application filed June 4, 1895. $erial No. 551,657, (N 5 1,)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN D. MAIER, J 1 a citizen of the United States, residing at WVilmington, in the county of New Castle and State of Delaware, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rules, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in rules, and especially to those adapted for use by bookkeepers, and has for its object to provide such a device that will enable a person to make a limited number of parallel lines at varying distances from each other without moving the rule, for the purposes well known in bookkeeping.

With these ends in'view the invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claim.

In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same, I will describe its construction and operation in detail, referring by numbers to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which--- Figure 1 represents an open blank-book with my device thereon in two of the positions in which it' may be used to rule lines. 'Fig. 2 is an end view showing a modification of my device in which the auxiliary straight-edge is attached to the rule proper, so as to be adjusted relatively thereto; and Fig. 3 is a section of my device, showing in dotted lines the several positions of the pen.

Similar numbers denote like parts in each of the views of the drawings.

1 is a rule, made of gutta-percha, hard rubber, wood, or other suitable material, and provided with the straight-edges 2 and 3 for the purpose of guiding a pen in forming straight lines, and 4 is an auxiliary straight-edge attached to the rule by the extensions 5, through which pass the rivets 6. This auxiliary straight-edge is preferably formed of a resilient wire-such as steel, brass, or aluminumand is arranged in juxtaposition with the straight-edge 3 of the rule, parallel thereto through its entire length, thus leaving a space 7 of sufficient width to permit the running of a pen therein, as shown in Fig. 3.

It will be obvious that by the use of my improved rule a pen or pencil may be guided by the outer edge of the auxiliary straight-edge v in ruling one line, and a line parallel with the first line may be ruled by guiding the pen against the inner edge of the auxiliary straight-edge, and a third line may also be ruled parallel with the first two by guiding the pen along the straight-edge 3 of the rule, and as seen, the first two lines ruled would have less space between them than there is between the second and third, and as this is the usual form of ruling in bookkeeping it follows that much time would be saved over the old method of moving the position of the rule for every line.

In case it is desirable to make more than three parallel lines at one placing of the rule this may be accomplished by holding the pen or pencil at an angle against the auxiliary straight-edge, as the latter is secured to the upper side of the rule and therefore at a considerable distance from the paper against which said rule is laid so that the deflection of a pen or pencil to the extreme angle at which it would produce a perfect line will be sufficient to describe said line at a considerable distance from the vertical plane of the auxiliary straight-edge, and as this deflection may be had in two directions it follows that two parallel lines a short distance from each other may be described by the proper guidance of the pen or pencil against one edge of the auxiliary straight-edge; and as a similar result maybe produced by the use of the other side of the auxiliary straight-edge and also to a lesser degree by the use of the straightedge 3 of the rule proper it will be seen that these parallel lines, at varying distances from each other, may be described upon one setting of the rule. The great advantage of this in the saving of time and in the describing of accurate parallel lines will be understood by bookkeepers and other persons who have occasion to use such devices.

It is sometimes necessary to rule parallel lines at greater distances from each other than can be accomplished by the use of the form of rule I have just described, and I have therefore shown a modification in Fig. 2 so con structed as to overcome this difficulty and permit a varying of the distance between the auxiliary straight-edge and the adjacent straight-edge of the rule, which result is attained by forming a slot 8 in each of the extensions 9 and securing the auxiliary straightedge 10 to the rule by means of screws 11 passed through these slots and threaded into said rule, so that it will be seen that the space 12 between the auxiliary straight-edge and the adjacent straight-edge of the rule may be varied at pleasure within the limit of the slots 8.

An important advantage gained by my device when ruling lines with pen and ink is that any surplus ink upon the pen will be transferred to the auxiliary straight-edge by adhesion, and as this straight-edge does not come in contact with the paper nor directly with the rule this surplus ink will be held in suspension upon the straight-edge, thereby preventing its transfer to the paper and thus avoiding blots. This is an effect which has not been produced by any of the devices in use for book-ruling and is very important, in that it often avoids the spoiling of an entire record-book.

I am aware that slight modifications might be made in the construction of my device without departing from the spirit of my invention, which rests in the broad idea of pro viding an auxiliary straight-edge in conjunction with an adjacent straight-edge of a rule and I therefore do not Wish to be limited to the exact construction shown and described.

hat I claim as new and useful is In combination with a rule having threaded apertures, thumb-screws working therein, an auxiliary straight-edge having its ends bent at right angles to the body and provided with slots whereby the straight-edge may be adjusted with relation to the rule and secured to the thumb-screws, for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN D. MAIER, JR.

Witnesses S. S. WILLIAMSON, WILBER L. SASSE. 

